1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to distributed data processing systems of the type referred to as client/server systems and, more particularly, to integrating distributed computing environment (DCE) remote procedure calls (RPCs) with an advisory work load manager (WLM) in a way that intelligently dispatches RPC requests among available application server processes.
2. Background Description
Client/server architecture makes use of the distributed intelligence of both the servers and workstations in a network to exploit the full computing power of both servers and workstations. This is done by splitting the processing of an application between two distinct components, the "front-end" client workstation and the "back-end" server. The client component can be a complete, stand-alone workstation or personal computer that offers a full range of power and features for running applications. The server component enhances the client component by providing additional computing power, allowing the client to off-load some of the computing burden. Thus, the client and server work together to accomplish the processing of the application, both increasing the processing power available and utilizing that power more efficiently. The client portion of the application is typically optimized for user interaction, while the server portion provides multiuser functionality.
Remote procedure calls (RPCs) in current client/server environments are serviced by a server whose process address is selected by a location broker (known as end point mapper located in the DCE Daemon (DCED) in a DCE implementation) without any attempt to account for system resources or activity. This can result in processing delays if the server selected is currently busy with an RPC from another client. Likewise, if an idle server is not selected, available resources are wasted. As a result, a number of load balancing schemes have been developed in order to balance the processing loads among servers, but these generally have been quite ineffective. Typically, the location broker provides addressing information (binding) for locating server processes on a particular host.